Keith Baker - The Gates of Night

Daine was dazed. Jode was nowhere to be seen. Pierce, by her side, loosed an arrow from his bow, burying the shaft in the leathery throat of a warforged scout.

They’re warforged, Lei thought. I know how to fight warforged.

She readied the necessary patterns of magic in her mind, infusions that would shatter and destroy whatever construct she touched. She reached out for the nearest warforged-and everything went numb. She was frozen. Paralyzed. Pierce had drawn his flail, which was raised above his head, but he was frozen too, as still as a statue.

A panel opened in the wall of the chamber, a hidden door that had escaped her cursory search. A man stood silhouetted in the light, a slender wand held in each hand. He stepped into the light, and Lei saw his face.

Father!

Lei struggled to speak, but every muscle was paralyzed. There could be no mistake. This was Talin d’Cannith. There were a few new lines on his face, a little more gray in his hair. In place of the traditional blue uniform of the Cannith forger, Talin wore a glamerweave robe alive with shifting colors, and a leather harness lined with tools and wands. For a moment she thought this image was plucked from her dreams, but over the last year, whenever she’d seen her parents in her visions, they’d always been young. This was Talin as he might be today.

What was going on?

Had her parents been at Keldan Ridge all along?

A warforged soldier followed Talin out of the hidden room, a lean figure with mithral plating, armed with longsword and shield. Compared to other warforged of Keldan Ridge, he was remarkably normal. In fact, he reminded Lei of Pierce. There was something familiar about him, something nagging at Lei’s mind, but at this distance, she couldn’t identify it.

“Well, this is a surprise.” Talin tucked one of his wands into his harness and walked past Lei without a second glance. He stopped in front of Daine, examining his face. “Daine of House Deneith, isn’t it? Now captain in the Cyran army? Tell me, Daine, what have you done with my daughter?”

I’m right here! Why didn’t he recognize her? Or was there something wrong with her? Had she been corrupted in his eyes?

Whatever the thought behind it, Talin’s question was rhetorical. Lei could see that Daine was paralyzed as well. As a result, Talin must have been quite surprised when a voice rang out across the chamber.

“You’re asking the wrong question.”

Jode stepped out from behind a containment pod, as cheerful as ever. Talin brought his remaining wand to bear on the halfling, and Jode raised his hands.

“You’re looking for Lei, aren’t you?” Jode said. “If so, you’d be wiser to ask what you’ve done to her.”

“Explain yourself, halfling,” Talin said.

“Lei is on the field above us, fighting these soldiers of yours. By now, she may be dead. And if so, who’s to blame? Daine-or you?”

Lei knew Jode. He was buying time, trying to learn what he could while he waited for the paralyzing magic to fade. And she knew Daine. Right now, her father had his back to Daine, and as far as Daine was concerned, this was the man responsible for the death of his soldiers. If Daine broke free, he’d strike to kill. She struggled against the spell, to no avail; her muscles might as well have been made of stone.

Then she felt the others, rising within her.

First came Darkheart, the staff stirring in her hands. The bond was weak, but the spirit was there. Darkheart’s life had been a prison, and now she was bound within this splinter of wood. She wanted freedom more than anything, and she let this desire spill into Lei, adding her passion to Lei’s flagging willpower. Darkheart wasn’t alone. Now Lei felt a second presence, a voice in her mind. Pierce.

Fight, my sister . The thought was strong and calm, conjuring memories of all the times Pierce had fought at her side and shielded her from harm. This is your battle, and my strength is yours .

Once again, Lei laid her will against the magic that held her paralyzed, and the spell shattered against the combined resolve of her allies.

She was nearly too late. Daine broke free just as Lei did. Another instant, and his dagger would be buried in her father’s back.

“No!” Whether it was the magic of dreams or sheer determination, Lei forced herself to move faster than Daine. Her staff snaked out, catching him off-guard and sending him tumbling to the ground, cursing.

The room erupted into chaos. Talin raised his wand, and Lei knocked it from his grasp. The warforged burst into motion, but the spell had finally broken, and Pierce and Daine were ready for battle. These warforged were more skilled in battle than the typical newborn, but Pierce and Daine were true veterans. Lei was confident that they could hold their own, at least for a few moments.

“Father!” she said. “What are you doing? I’m right here!”

Talin met her gaze, and she saw only confusion in his eyes. Then she realized. This is Daine’s dream. Drawn from his memory. I wasn’t there . Perhaps she was playing the role of Krazhal. Perhaps he couldn’t see her at all. But as far as he was concerned, his daughter was still out on the battlefield.

Then a new voice echoed across the room. “Stop, all of you! There is terrible danger!” Strangely, it seemed to come from both sides of the room at once, from the top of the stairs and from Talin’s hidden chamber. Talin’s eyes widened, and Lei realized that she’d heard two voices, almost but not quite identical-two voices speaking in perfect unison. Her voice, and that of her mother.

Lei followed her father’s surprised gaze, and for a moment she saw herself , running down the stairs, a blast disk in her hand-the disk left at the tunnel, which she must have disarmed. Pierce was right behind her, his armor marred by the wounds of battle. For a moment, she was too stunned to act. And in that moment, the second Lei seemed to dissolve, fading into a column of light and flowing into her. A rush of memories flooded her mind. Building the false siege staff, struggling to hold the position against the warforged, the terrible discovery that forced her and Pierce to chase after Daine, and her shock when she saw her father in the hall.

“Lei!”

This time three voices spoke at once. Her father, surprised yet still cool and calm. Daine, confused and distressed. And her mother, whose voice held both fear and joy. Around them, the battle had come to a halt, as the warforged obeyed the orders of their mistress. Only one still held himself at battle readiness … the tall soldier with the greatsword, Pierce’s twin.

Talin placed his hands on his daughter’s shoulders and stared into her eyes. But when he spoke, it was to her mother. “What is it, Aleisa?” he said. It was only then that Lei remembered the vision she’d seen after falling into the river, when her father had seemingly incapacitated a young Lei with a touch. If she tried to pull away, could he strike her down?

Would he?

“There’s a wave of magical energy coming from the heart of Cyre, and the power is astonishing. We’ve only got minutes before it strikes.” Now Aleisa was next to Lei, and she pushed Talin’s hands off her daughter. “Go see for yourself.”

Talin strode away, and the tall soldier followed him. Daine started to speak, but Jode kicked him in the foot and he closed his mouth.

“Just look at you, my daughter,” Aleisa said. She glanced over at Pierce. “And you, by her side. It is good to see that a few things are right in the world. But I fear that this is a poor time for a reunion. Come, quickly.”

“Daine-” Lei began.

“Bring him if you must. But put that sword away, boy.” Daine glanced at Lei.